No Public Money Behind El Salvador’s New Bitcoin, IMF Confirms

The IMF stated that the recent Bitcoin accumulation came from private donations, not public funds El Salvador has significantly reduced public participation in its Chivo e-wallet as part of changes to the government’s involvement in Bitcoin, according to the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said efforts are also underway to improve transparency around the country’s BTC holdings across its different wallets. No Public Funds Bought Bitcoin Majority ownership and operational control of Chivo have been transferred to a private operator, while the government has kept a minority stake and responsibility for holding customer assets. On Bitcoin accumulation, El Salvador provided documentation showing that the BTC acquired since the first review of its IMF program came from private donations, and no public funds were used for the purchases. The IMF staff and the Salvadoran authorities have reached a staff-level agreement that also includes measures to strengthen the governance and risk management of crypto assets held by the public sector, along with plans to update the country’s digital-asset legal, regulatory and supervisory framework. The IMF said no additional Bitcoin accumulation b...